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Friday, August 05, 2011

Arusha starts producing electricity

The Technical College of Arusha is claiming to have started producing electricity through various methods and is ready to supplement such energy needs to the National grid.“We at TCA are capable of yielding between 50 and 100 kilowatts of power from various hydro-electric sources available in Arusha, including a number of waterfalls found in both Meru and Arusha-Rural Districts,” explained Dr Richard Masika, the Institution chancellor.According to Dr Masika, TCA through its special energy project is alreadyproducing electricity of between 10 and 15 Kilowatts for local consumption.The electricity power being tapped from nearby waterfalls is being supplied among 20 households in the Makumira Village of Meru District, whose thousands of residents now enjoy uninterrupted power supply 24-hours a day and seven-days a week at a time when the entire country suffers 18 hours of electricity blackouts daily.Also benefiting from the hydro-power electricity production by TCA is the Enkare-Nanyuki Secondary School of Meru which is also being supplied with electricity services free of charge.The next beneficiary will be the local Catholic Mission of Kigarawa in Njombe District, Southern Highlands. The TCA is however not going about the ambitious project alone, and are working together with the University of Dar-es-Salaam to achieve the said results.This technological joint venture between the two institutions of higher learning has also come up with locally made, power-saving traffic controlling lights (robots).They are confident that they can produce and supply enough kilowatts to solve the current power shortage experienced in the country.The Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, who toured the Northern Zone’s version of Agriculture Show here, lauded TCA’s efforts, saying the government will support such initiatives as they are targeted to rural areas where most farmers in the country reside and operate from.